


Words So Leisured

by trepasette



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, ana and co are still presumed dead, emotional ineptness ensues and lots of misunderstandings happen while they both try to figure it out, fareeha is suspicious of satya's intentions and sets out to bug her, i am gay and theres no damn content for this ship, jesse is nosy, nerd/jock fareeha is canon i will die on this hill, people are sad a lot at first, pharah and mccree are bros, right after the recall
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-25
Updated: 2018-05-25
Packaged: 2019-05-13 12:41:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14749061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trepasette/pseuds/trepasette
Summary: Fareeha Amari responds to the Overwatch recall, unsure why she did and doubting her own intentions. Stuck in Watchpoint: Gibraltar waiting for the newly reformed organization to make its first moves, Fareeha finds a new way to pass her time- bugging a new agent she doesn't quite trust for petty revenge. Annoyance turns to friendship turns to something much more than Fareeha bargained for.AKA Fareeha is an ass who rarely thinks things through, Satya is completely oblivious to nearly everything and McCree is dead set on helping his best friend find love in the least helpful ways possible.





	Words So Leisured

“I’ve always wanted to get as far away as possible from the place where I was born. Far both geographically and spiritually. To leave it behind… I feel that life is very short and the world is there to see and one should know as much about it as possible. One belongs to the whole world, not just one part of it.”  
-Paul Bowles

 

* * *

 

 

In the long shadow of the the Rock of Gibraltar stood Watchpoint: Gibraltar, aptly named. The base, nearly forgotten, now sat quiet, unassuming, and… incredibly boring.  
Now reoccupied, the base was home to many newly reinstated agents who sat on their hands, filling their days with cleaning, training, or catching up, just waiting for the purpose they’d been promised by the recall. Before the agents’ arrival, the base had played host to boxes of abandoned equipment and about three families of owls. While the worst of it had been cleaned out a few weeks ago, dust still lingered in the air in Fareeha’s room, illuminated by the golden shafts of light filtering through the cracks in her blinds. It would almost be pretty if it didn’t make her sneeze constantly the first few days.

  
Among the many agents, both new and old, who had answered the recall was one Fareeha Amari. That being said, she wasn’t entirely sure why she was even here- sitting on a bed nearly too small for her, in a dusty room, among a host of painful memories and old faces, staring at her hands. Closure, maybe? Even though it was years back, it still seemed too abrupt, too raw, too unfinished.  
Despite evidence to the contrary, Fareeha refused to believe it could all end that way. Even without Overwatch, she still believed she could be part of some greater good, something bigger than herself, something just.

  
Right…?

  
The idea that altruism didn’t always end in tragedy still burned in her soul, just as it had when she was too young to know better, regardless of all she had seen to undermine it.

  
Maybe she sought normalcy.

  
She’d arrived about a month after she got the call and there were already familiar faces waiting to greet her. McCree had nearly tackled her with a hug that smelled like old smoke and cedarwood. Reinhardt, Tracer, and Winston were there too, working tirelessly to get the base in operational shape. They all happily welcomed her, careful not to mention anything that may be a sore subject. Angela tread less carefully, trying to see which wounds still needed mending. _It must be hard, being back here, standing in her shadow and being expected to fill it. I’m here if you need me- for medical reasons or just to talk_. Fareeha had smiled and told her it would be quite alright, ignoring the bad feeling it left pooled in her gut.

  
Other new agents were here as well, quickly filling the obvious absences from the original team. While she’d met most of them, a few seemed to be sulking around the base, staying clear of everyone’s path for unknown reasons. Regardless of her own feelings about the matter, Winston didn’t seem too bothered by the behavior so she tried ignore her concerns. Genji had brought two newcomers, an omnic who arrived with him and an unfriendly older man who arrived a few weeks later and Fareeha had seen a total of two times- once upon arriving and the second time in a stairwell when she’d caught him obviously fleeing the moment he realized someone else was entering the area. Needless to say, she didn’t care too much for the other guest. The omnic she liked just fine; he was nice and made tea surprisingly well for a being who didn’t consume food or drink. Genji himself seemed less angry than she remembered; it made her happy to see that some things had changed for the better in the absence of Overwatch.

  
As for the future, it was as much a mystery as her own intentions. Agents were here, supplies were on their way, but as it was, there was no function for operatives of an illegal organization. There soon would be, Winston promised, but for now they had to be content with waiting. She had trained on the ground for a week just itching to be in the air, or to at least have a little sense of purpose in waking up. The other agents grew restless as well. Maybe it was time to leave her room, she thought. Anything to get moving.

“Don’t feel right being back here,” McCree says, cigarillo smoke curling out from his lips in a way he’d probably practiced beforehand to look cool. “Shut in a building with old ghosts rattlin’ around.”

  
She’d found him where she usually did, tucked into a hidden balcony overlooking the landing bay where someone had started a makeshift garden. It was quiet and out of the way, so McCree, who jokingly insisted he was getting too old to keep up with the kids, claimed it as a place where he could smoke in peace without Angela’s insistence he quit.

Fareeha sighs lightly, “I’m not sure if it’s worse talking about it or ignoring it.”

  
Oddly, Jesse and Fareeha had found it easiest to pick up with one another after the recall than they had with the other agents. Everyone else seemed so much more… jaded then they remembered. Jesse still joked and played pickup games of basketball, despite harboring his fair share of hurt with it all. His teasing and tacky one liners seemed like a comfortable constant after returning.  
She mentally reminded herself to never tell McCree any of that.

“You mean how they pretend they don’t expect you to fill some damn big boots,” he snorts, “or how they pretend there are no boots to fill an’ there ain’t any spots at the table left empty.”

“You forgot how everyone looks at me like I’ll snap when they mention her. Or how they give these looks when they think they said something to remind me of her.”

Jesse takes the cigarillo out of his mouth, looking at it with a grimace, “None of it changes the fact it feels wrong-” he pauses as if debating whether or not he should say more. Making up his mind, the cowboy sets his jaw and continues in a softer tone, “-an’ it’s not just her. It’s all of ‘em. We can’t pretend they ain’t dead an’ we don’t want ‘em back. It’s Jack and Rey-”

The mechanical whirr of a door opening stops him mid-sentence. Walking out of the service elevator is a woman with long black hair and an armful of seedlings. She stops walking when she notices them, obviously in the middle of a slightly tense conversation. Her body stiffens as if she’s been caught smuggling explosives to the landing bay instead of plants.

“I didn’t realize there were others occupying this space. I will be getting out of your way now.” The woman states in a lightly accented voice that was almost music to Fareeha’s ears.

“W-wait!” Fareeha calls, quickly standing upright. She’d seen this agent before, silently moving around the base, staring judgmentally, occasionally appearing in the control room to correct or observe. Maybe she’d feel less uneasy about her presence if she knew her and now was a better chance than any to get to know-

“Is there a problem?” the woman asks in a surprisingly confrontational manner, as if Fareeha had challenged her authority to be there.

Taken aback, Fareeha scrambles to articulate her thoughts coherently, “No, I was just- did you plant these? I’m Fareeha, by the way.”

“Lotta things ya just said there,” McCree snorts under his breath so only Fareeha can hear.

The woman frowns as if Fareeha’s response was unsatisfactory. _The absolute gall_. “Yes I did and to my knowledge there are no rules here against it. Although I would prefer if you would refrain from smoking in the presence of the plants,” she answers dryly, narrowing her eyes at McCree who tries to inconspicuously throw his cigarillo over the balcony. Failing, as it bounces off the ledge and onto his boot.

“Oh! Sorry about him, the garden is very pretty,” Fareeha tries again, smiling weakly. Never before had she struck out so quickly with someone for no apparent reason.

The woman nods, almost robotically, “And I hope it remains pretty,” she pauses, as if deciding if continuing to speak is worthwhile, “Satya, by the way- the ex-Vishkar operative. You are the Amari daughter, there was no need to introduce yourself- everyone here knows what your mother did.”

  
Fareeha’s expression sours.

  
“Pleasantries aside, I will _actually_ be taking my leave now.” The entire conversation, Satya had been slowly moving backwards and now she took the final step into the elevator, like a wounded animal returning to its den.

The elevator doors slide close and McCree immediately turns to Fareeha with a raised eyebrow, “Well she was…”

“How was any of that a _pleasantry_?” Fareeha huffs, glaring at the closed doors.

Jesse chuckles and lets out a low whistle, “Is that your angle, Amari? Join Overwatch and hit it off with the ladies because you’re the successor of a big-shot?” he grins mockingly.

Her frown deepens, “Save it. I’m not trying, what’s your excuse?” McCree places a hand on his chest like he’s appalled she would imply a grown man who dressed like a cowboy would have any difficulty on the romantic front. “I just don’t like the agents who don’t show their faces. How can we be sure their motives are the same as ours if they come from hostile organizations and never speak to the people they are supposed to be working together with?”

Jesse scratches his beard thoughtfully, “Well, from what I’ve been hearin’ the other agents seem to feel the same way. ‘Sides Winston, but he always has his reasons. The young one from Brazil already’s taken issue with her, bad blood or somethin’.” He lights another cigarillo to replace the one he tossed, obviously not heeding the woman’s suggestion- _Satya’s suggestion_ , Fareeha thinks with a small smile. “The way most o’ the original agents see it, Overwatch was taken down from the inside before we even got sanctioned to nonexistence, so nobody takes too kindly to someone comin’ from the outside under the guise of allegiance. I suppose she’s feelin’ the same amount of suspicion towards all of us due to how she’s treated. Or so I reckon.”

“You seem well informed,” Fareeha regards the cowboy with a raised eyebrow. He’d always been nosy, so it shouldn’t be much of a surprise Jesse looked into this before her. Won’t stop her from half-heartedly judging him for being a gossip, though.

“Lots of chisme here just waitin’ to be heard,” he smiles, pointedly ignoring her look, “She also doesn’t just keep to herself- she hangs out with that archer fella- Genji’s brother. Don’t think they’re up to anything too suspicious unless they’re trying to form the world’s worst cult o’ personality.”

Fareeha frowns.

“Get it? ‘Cause their personalities? And they’re real damn rude?”

She rolls her eyes, checking an invisible watch, “I think I need to be somewhere, Jesse.” Turning to walk to the elevator, she stops halfway, nearly crushing a small vial with her boot. Quickly, she grabs it to look at later. Must have been Satya’s, maybe she can return it.

As she enters the elevator, she hears McCree call, “If ya can’t handle the jokes, don’t bother stopping to chat next time!”

“Get better jokes!” she yells back as the doors closed.

Now alone, she takes the vial out of her pocket for inspection. Poison? Toxic gas? No… seeds. Fareeha smiles to herself, _what kind of person plants a secret garden? Did she really seem cagey because of what Jesse said, or does she just dislike everyone here? What’s her damn deal? ...and what would those serious features look like if they smiled?_ Still beautiful, Fareeha was sure.

  
_Wait_ , she blinks, purging the last thought from her mind. _Beauty is wasted on the unkind_ , she thinks to herself, as if that will soothe her pride. Maybe she has a new way to pass time after all- bothering Satya as petty revenge for her rudeness. The woman didn’t strike Fareeha as the type to enjoy tolerate annoyances and if McCree’s ribbing was anything to go by, she was good at being just that. It was harmless enough, maybe it would even put her nerves at ease, knowing what the agent was up to.

  
Fareeha smiles at the vial of seeds in her palm, at least now she has an excuse to cross her path once more.

**Author's Note:**

> I never write fic, but this ship has like 5 fics total and man I just love it


End file.
